Jan Paternotte

Not to be confused with Jean Paternotte.

Jan Maarten Paternotte (born 26 February 1984) is a Dutch politician of the Democrats 66 (D66). He has been a member of the House of Representatives since 23 March 2017, and he served as his party's parliamentary leader from January 2022 until December 2023.^[2]

Jan Paternotte
Paternotte in 2017
Leader of the Democrats 66 in the House of Representatives
In office 11 January 2022 – 5 December 2023
Preceded by	Sigrid Kaag
Succeeded by	Rob Jetten
Member of the House of Representatives
Incumbent
Assumed office 23 March 2017
Member of the Municipal Council of Amsterdam
In office 11 March 2010 – 1 April 2017
Chair of the Young Democrats
In office 2004–2005
Personal details
Born	Jan Maarten Paternotte (1984-02-26) 26 February 1984 (age 41) 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands
Political party	Democrats 66
Spouse	Lise-Lotte Kerkhof
Children	2
Residence(s)	Leiden, Netherlands[1]
Alma mater	University of Amsterdam

Early life and education

Paternotte was born in 's-Hertogenbosch, North Brabant and grew up in the villages of Hurwenen, Maarssen and Groenekan.^[3] He studied international relations at the University of Amsterdam.^[3] In 2012, he obtained a degree in European law.

Career

In 2004, Paternotte became the chair of the Young Democrats, a political youth organisation affiliated with D66.^[2] On 11 March 2010, he was elected into the municipal council of Amsterdam.^[2] In the same year, he participated in the 2010 Dutch general election as the twelfth candidate on the list of D66, but was not elected into the House of Representatives.^[4]

While a member of the municipal council, Paternotte worked as a policy advisor to MEP Marietje Schaake.^[2] In the 2014 Dutch municipal elections, he was the lead candidate for D66 in Amsterdam.^[5] Under his leadership, D66 became the largest party in the municipal council.^[6] Paternotte left the council in 2017, when he was elected into the House of Representatives.^[2] He was re-elected in 2021.^[2]

On 11 January 2022, he became the parliamentary leader of D66 in the House of Representatives, after both Sigrid Kaag and Rob Jetten joined the fourth Rutte cabinet as ministers.^[5][a] Paternotte received a third House term in the November 2023 general election, and he was succeeded by Jetten as parliamentary leader. He became D66's spokesperson for foreign affairs, kingdom relations, housing, higher education, and media.^[7]

Paternotte introduced a motion backed by a majority of parties calling for Taiwan to be admitted as a member to more international organizations, to prevent its further isolation by the People's Republic of China.^[8] With CDA leader Henri Bontenbal, he requested Prime Minister Dick Schoof to advocate for a suspension of Hungary from the Schengen Area out of fear it was admitting Russian spies due to insufficient vetting.^[9] He co-wrote a bill to lift a ban on cultivating embryos for scientific research, hoping to raise the success rate for IVF treatment. Paternotte's second daughter was born after six attempts.^[10]

Personal life

Paternotte has two daughters.^[10]

Electoral history

Electoral history of Jan Paternotte

Year	Body	Party		Pos.	Votes	Result		Ref.
						Party seats	Individual
2010	House of Representatives		Democrats 66	12	1,280	10	Lost	[11]
2017	House of Representatives		Democrats 66	9	2,991	19	Won	[12]
2021	House of Representatives		Democrats 66	4	6,685	24	Won	[13]
2023	House of Representatives		Democrats 66	2	19,645	9	Won	[14]

Notes

1. In the Netherlands, ministers and state secretaries are not members of parliament, with the possible exception of the period between an election and the accession of the new cabinet.